Biting dog diverts flight

According to passengers on the plane, a small dog, a Manchester terrier weighing less than 15 pounds, was aboard the flight. Apparently, the dog became agitated when its sedative, which was supposed to last for the entire flight, began wearing off soon after take-off. The owner, an 89-year old woman from New Jersey, tried to calm the dog, and eventually opened the door of its portable cage. It should be noted that US Airways policy strictly forbids opening cages after boarding.

A small dog jumped out of its cage and bit a passenger and a flight attendant on a Phoenix-bound US Airways plane on Monday, forcing the captain to make an emergency landing in Pittsburgh.

The dog's owner opened the cage despite being told not to, said Valerie Wunder, a spokeswoman for US Airways.

The captain of Flight 522 from Newark to Phoenix, carrying 122 passengers, decided to divert the plane because he "wanted to make sure everybody was OK," Wunder said, adding she did not know whether charges would be filed against the dog's owner.

Some passengers questioned the decision to divert the flight after the dog was captured. The pilot and airline said that the decision was made so that the bitten passenger and flight attendant could be examined and the dog and its owner could be given alternative transport. The elderly owner and her furry companion were eventually put aboard a different flight after being questioned by transportation officials in Pittsburgh.